1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile robots, and more specifically, to mobile robots which easily surmount obstacles on surfaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional mobile robots include wheeled robots and crawler robots. The wheeled robots have the advantages of high-speed mobility and high operational efficiency while moving on flat surfaces. However, most conventional wheeled robots are problematic in that the wheeled robots may fail to operate on surfaces having obstacles, such as thresholds and/or stairs.
An example of conventional crawler robots may be found in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Sho. 60-176871. As described in the Japanese patent, some mobile robots are equipped with specific traveling units, such as crawlers, in place of conventional wheels to surmount obstacles such as thresholds and/or stairs, while moving on surfaces by use of the traveling units. However, the mobile robots equipped with the specific traveling units, such as the crawlers, require a variety of sensors, specific controllers and specific drive units in the bodies of the robots, as well as the traveling units capable of surmounting obstacles on the surfaces. Therefore, the mobile robots having the specific traveling units, such as the crawlers, have reduced amounts of effective spaces in their bodies, so that it may be difficult to install some important elements required to perform desired functions in the robots' bodies. Additional problems of the mobile robots having specific traveling units, such as the crawlers, include excessive production costs and operational noise of the robots.